“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” This inspirational-in-a-cheugy-“Live, Laugh, Love”-way quote is often attributed to the astronomer and author Carl Sagan but, in truth, he actually never said it. It certainly feels like he could have but it was actually a reporter in a 1977 Newsweek profile of him that wrote those words. Something Sagan did actually scribe in his 1985 sci-fi novel Contact, which I personally find to be more impactful, is “The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”
This concept of mankind’s longing to find and send messages to beings existing beyond Earth is the root of Minneapolis musician Rachel Lime’s track “Voyager 3.” Released last month as the lead single off her forthcoming debut album A.U., the song is a sheeny ‘80s-inspired dance track about the simultaneous desire for and fear of connection that also features samples from the Voyager Golden Record. Lime shared with KEXP this about the song:
“I wrote this song inspired by the tradition of space disco, and the Voyager golden record, sent into space with Voyager 1 and 2 by NASA. The content of the records, music and art and audio, was selected by a committee led by Carl Sagan, and was meant to represent humankind to any extraterrestrial life that would be out there. This interstellar message in a bottle has always really moved me. This idea of humanity trying desperately to communicate itself to Someone Out There, to attempt to connect, to prove that we have created beautiful things.
The lyrics could be interpreted as a love song, and that was intentional. But there's a second layer of this Voyager story, which has the same fear and longing of romantic love. Hoping that there is someone out there who will understand us - and also being terrified there is. Turning the song into a music video was such a fun and rewarding process, working with Alan and the team to turn my scrawled, messy storyboard into the video you see here.
In the beginning we had tossed around the idea of including some kind of alien receiving this message in a bottle, but I didn't want anyone receiving the message - that's what makes it so compelling to me, the idea that we sent it and have no idea if anyone will write us back. The song features audio from the golden record itself, including the opening "Hello from the children of planet Earth," and a greeting in Korean (I'm Korean), annyeonghaseyo. The vibe is very 80s, the era of great sci-fi films and stories of first contact.”
Today, Lime is unveiling via KEXP the video for “Voyager 3” which translates the ‘80s aesthetics of the song to the screen superbly. Soft, romantic, Kate Bush-esque shots are juxtaposed with steely, futuristic, gun-toting, keyboard-rippin cuts for a perfect representation of the song and the decade with which it was inspired. I can’t even begin to get into how strong the glove game alone is.
Director, Alan de Leon Taverna, had this to say about the “Voyager 3” video:
"I would just like to say how much of a pleasure it was to work with Rachel on this project. It was really a true collaboration and was so rewarding to bring her vision to life. I’d also love to draw attention to the wonderful crew, over 20 dedicated folks helped to make this happen. DP Thomas Vandendolder is a master of his craft and a true leader. The world he created matched perfectly with the looks and stylings of Pang Thor and Miss Frozaen.
Voyager 3 was a dream come true and I'm so excited for Rachel Limes future endeavours. Her work is sure to inspire and entertain, as she exists in the space between artistry and integrity that is all too rare in our fast paced world. Thank you for trusting me with your debut.”
For more background on Lime, because you’re likely unfamiliar, she’s a Korean-American adoptee, born in Seoul and raised amidst the cornfields of Minnesota. After 15 years of quietly making music that was only occasionally released on Soundcloud, Lime finally dropped her first official single in December 2020, a synthy cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” Her debut album A.U. is being released through the brand new local label Inside Voices, run by Big Bldg founder and High Pulp drummer Rob Granfelt. He had this to say about signing Lime to Inside Voices:
“Rachel and I met while in college and wound up playing music together while living in the midwest. Once we graduated, we lived in different cities and didn’t keep in touch really at all, until she posted a soundcloud demo of a song in early 2020. I was just floored... it was synthesizing all of these different genres and aesthetics so effortlessly.
I called her and we had a conversation about how I was starting the label and how she was trying to commit to taking music more seriously and we decided to work together. She’s so diligent in her work and the way she approaches creativity - it’s been a dream working with her... and her record is amazing, I can’t wait to see how people react."
A.U. is out June 11, 2021 via Inside Voices. Watch the video for “Voyager 3” below.
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